CHEATHAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) – In a town of a little more than 4,000 people, there is a Gold Star Mother doing her best to show everyone how much her son loved Cheatham County.

“I know he would be so happy to see this park here today with all the children playing out there,” said Penny Riley.

Lance Corporal Daniel Gabriel “Gabe” Raney was killed in Marja, Afghanistan, when an improvised explosive device was detonated in 2010. He was laid to rest in Georgia, but his mom brought a part of his spirit back to Pleasant View.

“We have a place that we can come to and honor our veterans, our fallen, it just makes all the difference in the world,” Riley said.

Gabe was studying microbiology at Austin Peay State University in 2008 when he decided to join the Marines.

Gabe Raney (Courtesy: Penny Riley)

Riley said she always knew he wanted to fight for our country.

“He really always had it in him to be a protector,” said Riley.

She says at 9 years old, during one of the country’s darkest days, she saw a future Marine in his eyes.

“We saw 9/11 unfold live on television and it had a major, profound effect on that child,” Riley remembered.

Nine years after that, Gabe made the ultimate sacrifice. Now, going on her seventh Memorial Day without him, July 9, 2010 is still a tough day for Riley.

“I saw the corner of a green service uniform and I knew what it meant,” she said.

She remembers her family celebrating when they found out Gabe would be coming home in a month; but even growing up on a military base, that did not prepare her for the day she learned that she would never see her son again.